Recent Marine Aquaculture Efforts in the States

A number of recent bills and laws have addressed marine aquaculture at the state level. Other states are insuring that labeling laws are preserved in order for consumers to have the right to know what they are eating. Below are a few examples of state efforts to protect the oceans and consumers from the negative impacts of farm raised fish.

• Alaska:  In April 2005, the Alaska State legislature passed legislation opposing open ocean aquaculture in federal waters for finfish and predatory shellfish.  There is already a ban on fish farming in Alaska’s state waters.
• California:  In February 2005, California State Senator Simitian introduced legislation that would prohibit marine finfish aquaculture without a lease that meets certain environmental standards.
• California: In October of 2005, California passed a labeling law (SB 730), introduced by Senator Speier, that would prohibit the unregulated labeling of farm raised fish as “organic” until the appropriate state or federal agency develops organic standards that undergo a public comment process. Consumers in California will no longer be misled by erroneous industry developed “organic” standards.
• Oregon: In July 2005, Oregon’s legislature passed a measure  that urged the U.S. Congress to set up a regulatory system for aquaculture that, among other things, prioritized conservation of the marine environment, only allowed permits after a peer-reviewed inventory of federal waters and allowed any coastal state to ban the placement of open ocean aquaculture directly outside its state waters.